During World War 2, were American soldiers with “German sounding” last names preferably sent to the Pacific Theater as opposed to the European Theater?

by ntwadumela

I was speaking with a family member earlier, and they made an off-hand comment about how American soldiers with German sounding last names were sent to the pacific instead of Europe during World War 2 because leadership wasn’t sure that the soldiers allegiances wouldn’t shift during battle. Is there any truth to this, or any historical evidence of this happening? I couldn’t find anything online while searching, but it sounded plausible in theory, but difficult logistically.

astano925

Follow up question: even if this was not done systematically, was it possible for soldiers to request such treatment? Family legend has it that my grandfather asked to be sent to the Pacific because he still had relatives in the old countries - would such a transfer have been possible?